2015 French Open men's preview

Well its been quite a while since I've updated this blog and alot has happened on the tennis front since then and this post will cover my pick of the men's favourites or contenders to win the French open.

So let's get cracking with this and have a look at who's got the best chance (or not so best) of lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy at Roland Garros this year (please also note this post will be subject to being updated so it might a few changes here and there). 

1. Novak Djokovic

OK so right at the top of the tree we once again have the undisputed World No.1 Novak Djokovic who has had a stellar season this year even by his own incredibly high standards and he has so far in 2015 wracked up a remarkable 22 match winning streak with only two losses so far to his name (in Doha and Dubai).  Novak so far has claimed the first major of the year in Australia and went on to win the first three Masters titles on the trot in Indian Wells, Miami and also Monte Carlo before taking a break by not appearing in Madrid so its been quite a run so far and he had just added to it today by winning the Italian open in Rome defeating Roger Federer.  Novak has had his chances at Roland Garros in the last three years or so but he has always come up short against Rafa in the key moments.  This was especially noted in his two previous French open finals where he double faulted in both matches on championship point to hand the title to Rafa and he also squandered a key break in the 5th set of their epic semi final clash in 2013.  But somewhere sooner or later something has to give and Rafa's stranglehold on the French can't last forever and if there is one man than can relinquish that title from Rafa's hands it is this man.  So will Nole win it this year???  I think its not quite a done deal but it is a relatively safe bet and his form in 2015 so far would suggest so especially given that Rafa has been way below par this season, especially during the clay court season.  So I think this could well be Novak's year and while there is always a chance he could lose again it might just be third time lucky this time around in Paris, but time will tell.  Prediction: champion or finalist

2. Rafael Nadal

Next up is Rafa himself even though he has had his struggles in 2015 which so far has proved to be his worst season in what must be 10 years or so and it has seen his ranking plummet down to No.7 in the world.  And after Rafa's surprise exit in Rome last week it has done nothing to help his seeding either at the French open and the organisers at the French have said they will not take his amazing record at Roland Garros into favour so there won't be any hope of Rafa being in the top four seeds.  However his ranking has not gone down any further so he is still at No.7 in the world and if Milos Raonic pulls out (as he has had foot surgery but thought might recover in time for the French) then Rafa will go up to No.6 in the seedings.  But this could still spell bad news for Rafa in Paris as he could very well face any of the the top three guys in the quarter finals and it would especially be unfortunate if he were to face an in form Novak Djokovic, which could spell the end of his unbeaten run there.  And it is also worth noting that Rafa has failed to beat any of the other members of the big four so far as he has already fallen to Nole in Monte Carlo and suffered a surprise defeat to Andy Murray in Madrid.  However there is something about the French open that invigorates Rafa even if he has struggled during the tour in the past when he get's to Roland Garros things just seem to click into place for him.  So I think it would still be sillly to write off Rafa's chances because if he get's through a couple of tough first rounds and into the 2nd week that will give him confidence to push on and just maybe get himself into another final and from there anything is possible for him.  So this year its harder to predict if Rafa will be the outright winner at the French but given his remarkable record there I still wouldn't write off his chances and he can definitely reach the 2nd week even if he does for the first time in six years come up short.  But if Rafa does reach the final... I think he could still win it, such as his record there in the finals that 10th Roland Garros crown might yet be on the cards.  Prediction: champion, finalist or quarter finals. 

3. Andy Murray

Next is Andy Murray who so far has had a great 2015 as he reached the finals at the Australian open and Miami open even though he came up short to Djokovic in both it saw that he had fully recovered from his back surgery problems last year and he had found his form again.  But even more impressively Andy has so far put together his best clay court season to date as he won his first clay court title in Munich against Philipp Kohlschreiber and last week he stunned Rafa at the Madrid open to claim his 2nd title on the red dirt.  So the signs are looking very good so far for the British No.1 as he has continued to rack up the points this year and it sees him sit comfortably at No.3 in the world.  Andy has also faired very well at the French open in the past having reached the semi finals on two occassions both last year and in 2011 where he came up short against Rafa both times.  However Andy has proven so far this year to be a different animal on the red dirt and I think he will have his chances to claim the title for himself also.  The only problem for Andy however is that he could still could lose out to one of the top clay court specialists on their day at the French such as maybe David Ferrer or Fabio Fognini, which might prove to be the one obstacle that might stop Andy in his tracks.  But if Andy get's a favourable draw then I can definitely see him go deep into the 2nd week and while it has to be said I don't see him as the outright champ at Roland Garros he can still go far and you just never know.  Prediction: semi finals or finalist.

4. Roger Federer

And next we have the final member of the "big four" Roger Federer who so far in 2015 has had a pretty good season although not quite as stellar as it was in 2014, Roger still has made an impression at some of the bigger tournaments.  Roger also won the inaugural tournament at the Istanbul open earlier this month, which was his first clay court title in three years and he reached the final in Rome today but he was defeated in a convincing fashion however by Novak Djokovic.  Roger however did struggle to do well at the Australian open this year as he was stunned by Andreas Seppi there in the 3rd round which does leave one or two question marks over Roger's ability to progress at the French.  Roger also lost out last year as well at the French to an in form Ernest Gulbis in the fourth round, which shows that Roger lately at the slams has shown signs of vulnerability with age maybe also playing a factor here.  However Roger is still perhaps the greatest player to have played the game and there will be no doubt that this year he will be incredibly motivated to do well at the French to make up for his early exit in Melbourne.  So while I think it will be difficult to see Roger as the outright champion I still think that Roger can do pretty deep in Paris and I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in the final four at RG.  Prediction: semi finals.

5. David Ferrer

Next is the former FO 2013 finalist David Ferrer who so far has had quite an impressive season in 2015 and outside Rafa (well his poor form of late permitting that is) and Novak, he is the second best clay court player in the world just now.  And that is why Ferrer sits here at No.5 as he has proven he can really go deep in any clay court event and if it wasn't for Rafa in 2013 he would have won his first grand slam in Paris and its maybe a sad fact that Ferrer may well go down in history as the best player to never have won a slam.  But that is not to say that Ferrer won't have his chances and with a favourable draw Ferrer could have the opportunity to really go deep in Paris yet again and while I don't see him as the champion in the city of lights I still see him reach the final four or at least the last eight.  Prediction: quarter finals or semi final.

6. Kei Nishikori

Up next is Kei Nishikori who last year really broke out onto the scene as he made it into the top ten for the first time and reached his first grand slam final at the US Open where he came up short against Marin Cilic.  But since then Nishikori has largely still maintained that impressive momentum even though he hasn't quite backed up those results to the same extent.  Nishikori did also put together a good run on clay this year as he defended his Barcelona title successfully and he reached the semi finals of Madrid before being beaten by Andy Murray there.  And Nishikori definitely remains one of the dangerous contenders just outside the big four who has a real shot at winning a grand slam and I think one day he might just do it.  However I still don't quite see Kei winning his first major at Paris this year but I think a trip to the last eight or final four is likely.  Prediction: quarter finals or semi finals.     

7. Tomas Berdych

Next we have Tomas Berdych who so far has also had a pretty good season this year as he has reached three finals so far this year and consistently gone deep in most of the other tournaments he has played.  The problem however for Tomas so far is his record in finals as he has lost more than he has won having reached 27 finals he has lost 17 of them which isn't too enviable a stat.  Berdych also while he is known for having a very powerful game with potent groundstrokes and a big serve he is also one of the more mentally flaky players on the tour as he often lacks the edge needed to give him that final push he needs to win titles.  So while I think Berdych has a good chance of going quite far in Paris again I don't see him winning his maiden grand slam here either, but the last eight or semi finals is still a safe bet.  Prediction: quarter finals or semi finals.

8. Milos Raonic

Then we have the big Canadian server, Milos Raonic, who so far has had a pretty consistent season so far this year but hasn't won any titles as of yet having reached three finals.  But Raonic so far has proven to be one of the most consistent players on the tour and his serve is one of the best in game and has often been a real weapon that has gotten him out of trouble.  On top of that Raonic has worked hard to improve his game and added a few elements to it as he is a decent returner and also a competent vollyer at the net.  Raonic has also clocked some pretty good wins already this year as he beat Nishikori in Brisbane and most notably stunned Rafa at Indian wells as he defeated the mighty Spaniard for the first time in his career there.  However Raonic has often proven in the past to not be the best mover on the court and he often can have the top players run rings around him when it comes to playing long rallies which can leave him at a real disadvantage and his game is also still very much a work in progress.  So can Raonic win the French?  In short: no, but I still think he will make a decent run of things there and the last eight is a safe bet.  Prediction: quarter finals.

9. Nick Kygrios

Next there is the young rising star from Australia, Nick Kygrios who really announced himself last year to the tennis world after he upset Rafa at Wimbledon in the fourth round to reach his first major quarter final.  But Nick went on to prove he was no one trick pony either as he reached the quarter finals this year at his own home slam in Melbourne showing that this young guy could very well become a force to be reckoned with in the future.  Nick also pulled of a stunning win this year against Roger Federer in Madrid as he toppled him in three tight sets, which shows that Nick is a big match player who loves the big stage.  And this is what makes Nick very dangerous at the French open this year as although he is still very much a work in progress he is also a fearless and hungry player with nothing to lose.  So I think its safe to say that the young Aussie could do quite well in Paris and although I don't see him break his maiden slam duck here I do think he will reach the 2nd week and the last 16 or eight.  Prediction: 4th round or quarter finals.

10. Grigor Dimitrov

And last of all we have Grigor Dimitrov who is strangely enough right at the bottom here even though he is still very much a contender.  But it has to be said that 2015 so far hasn't been the best year for Grigor as he has endured some early exits and even though he put in a fairly good showing in Australia before he was finally upended by Andy Murray in the 4th round (which prompted one of the most spectacular racquet breaks in history by Dimitrov!).  Dimitrov also suffered a 1st round exit at the French last year which was a big disappointment given his impressive showing down under in Melbourne where he reached his first quarter final.  However despite that I'm sure Dimitrov will be determined to put in a better showing this year at the French and I can see him probably make the 2nd week but I don't see him being the eventual champion, however the last 16 or 8 is still possible.  Prediction: 4th round or quarter finals.

So that's it for my look at the pick of the men's contenders for the French open crown and I'm sure at least one or two of them will be accurate but however it goes it will be interesting as no doubt there might a few upsets in there.

And that's it for now and I will be back next week to start my coverage of the French open on this blog.

Until then bye for now! 

The Nole conundrum

Right OK this is a slightly different post on the tennis blog as this one will cover a certain problem that a certain British tennis player is having with a certain other tennis player.  And to get to the point I'm refering to Andy Murray's losing streak to Novak Djokovic as he has now lost six matches in a row to the world no.1 so I thought I batter out some of my thoughts on it (bit pointless maybe but its fun to do, well in a way!).

Well to start Andy as we all know hasn't beaten Djokovic since the Wimbledon 2013 final where Andy ended the 77 year wait for a British singles champion in the tournament and up until this year these two were 2-2 in their head to head with grand slam finals.  In fact in 2012 when Ivan Lendl was Andy Murray's coach, Andy's rivalry with Djokovic was reborn and started to emerge as one of the fledgling great rivalries in the sport in which that year alone they played seven matches and Nole lead their head to head that year 4-3 but clearly from that result there was nothing in it in terms of their games.  And in 2013 they both split their only two meetings as Novak won the Australian open final and of course Andy winning the aforementioned Wimbledon final.  So just two years ago their rivalry was alive and kicking and couldn't have been closer as with Lendl's help, Andy was at last really competing at the same level as the other three.

But after Andy came back from his lower back surgery in 2014 to the tour things took a downturn as he struggled to beat any of the big three with the closest to victory out of them was when Andy took on Rafa in Rome clay Masters tournament and he lead in the 3rd set by a break before he lost his lead and then the match.  But Andy has struggled to deal with Novak the most as out of the big three its his most prominent rivalry and one that for a year and a half had really caught fire but has since then it has largely been extinguished.  Andy last year admitted that given the time he had been away from the tour due to his injury made him realise in his absence these players keep improving and he was forced to try and catch up but found he struggled to do so.

And just look at Andy's losses from last year up until this year starting with last year in Miami where Andy was the defending champion and he took on Novak in the quarter finals, he played a poor game on serve and lost the first set and then squandered the lead in the 2nd set to hand a straight set win to the Serb in 7-5, 6-3.  After this Andy took on Novak in the US Open quarter final where he made an impressive start and pushed the Serb hard for two sets as they split the first two sets on a tiebreak, but in the 3rd set Andy started to tire and fatigue set in that ultimately saw him lose the match in four sets with a 7-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 scoreline.  After this Andy next faced Novak at the China Open semi final where again Andy had a chance to get back on even terms after losing the first set, he broke back in the 2nd only to yet again drop serve, which saw Novak serve out the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win.  And his last match against Novak in 2014 was at the Paris masters quarter finals where Andy made a promising start in the opening set but again lost it on a break of serve and he was broken twice in the 2nd set, which saw the Serb topple him again in 7-5, 6-2.

Getting onto 2015, Andy reached the Australian open final where he took on Novak and he went into the final in great form and unlike Novak who went into the final with a few question marks around his in his semi final match against Stan Wawrinka, which tipped the scales slightly in favour of Andy winning the title.  However yet again was undone in what was for the most part a pretty tight match up until the 4th set where Andy capitulated spectacularly on serve and he handed the victory to Djokovic who claimed his 5th title in Melbourne with a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 win.  This loss clearly had a lingering effect on Andy's game as he went on to suffer a couple of listless defeats on the tour after that in Rotterdam and Dubai.  But then Andy rediscovered his good form at Indian Wells in reaching the semi finals he took on Novak yet again in what he would have hoped would be sixth time lucky.  But...... again Andy came up short and yet again his serve let him down badly at the beginning of both sets and with a player like Nole a break of serve is like money in the bank and he took it and ran over the finish line with his easiest won over Andy Murray since Miami 2007 with an emphatic 6-2, 6-3 result.

So this rivalry continues to become increasingly one-sided with Novak taking each match with growing ease particuarly in the Masters tournaments where Andy has failed to take a single set off Novak in Masters events since their epic Shanghai final in 2012!  That's three years without a single set to Andy's name on the ATP tour events out with the grand slams where he has had a little more success in taking at least one set in every match they've played since their 2012 Australian Open semi final.  This certainly shows that Andy has invested more time and effort in their grand slam encounters but as for their tour events its less than inspiring to see Andy come up short on so many occassions.   And alot of this also again has to do with Andy's serve as he continually drops his serve against Novak in their matches and he simply cannot afford to do that against a player as consistent as Djokovic who in stark contrast very rarely drops his own and given any chance he will serve a match out at the first time of asking.

But I also thought that after Andy suffered his Australian Open defeat that when he faced Novak again in Indian Wells he appeared to freeze and hit a mental block as if that defeat is something he has struggled to get past although Andy said after the match this was not the case.  However another thing to consider is also one man's loss is another's gain and that certainly is true for Novak and with each win against Andy he grows in confidence against him and it also helps that he just happens to be the world's best player.  Novak is also no stranger to winning streaks and he's put a few together in his time most notably his 41 match streak in 2011, but Novak has also done this against players such as Tomas Berdych where he had won 11 consecutive matches against him before Berdych beat him again in Rome 2013.  Then there is also Stan Wawrinka with whom Novak shares another intruiging and at times exciting rivalry and Novak went on a 14 match winning streak before Stan finally beat him last year at the Australian open.  These sorts of stats aren't too encouraging for Andy who now standing at six matches lost in a row could easily fall foul of the same fate in going into double figures against Novak in his losing streak.  And that is almost certainly something Andy will want to avoid.  But further to Andy's latest defeat Djokovic also went on to take apart Roger Federer in the final of Indian Wells for the first set and a half he was unplayable before Roger broke back and pushed their match to a 3rd set.  And this showed that in this case Andy really was up against the No.1 in the world and as he said himself after the match "it isn't just about me" which is a fair point. 

However I think (and I might be very wrong!) Andy will at some stage will beat Djokovic this year and get his revenge over the World No.1 although I have to say I don't quite see it happening in the immediate future but Andy is certainly capable of it given the form he has shown so far 2015.  And their next potential match will be at the Miami open which starts this week which sees Andy and Novak on the opposite sides of the draw so they could only face each other in the final should they both get there.  Novak who is the defending champion is already the top favourite to win the title again this year and it has to be said if he does face Andy in the final, he will almost certainly be the winner so I don't see Andy toppling his old adversary on a hard court any time soon.  However if they should face each other on grass then it might be a slightly different story where Andy has never lost to Novak in their previous two meetings on that surface, granted that was two years ago at Wimbledon and three years ago at the Olympics so things might be different this time round.

Another issue for Andy is just how effective has and will Amelie Mauresmo continue to be for him as a coach?  As so far Andy has actually improved his form very well over the past few months with Mauresmo in his camp, he has reached another major final and he has also won 3 titles and got himself back in the top four so that in itself is quite impressive.  But Andy has still not secured one single win over the top 3 guys since Mauresmo's tenure began and that still is some cause for concern in a way that if she can't give him that edge to beat the very best in the game then she might eventually outlive her usefulness in his camp.  I personally don't think at this stage Mauresmo should go as she done some very good work with Andy and with his new recruitment of former world no.4 singles player, Jonas Bjorkman into the team, this might also help improve things for him, but it still remains to be seen just how that will play out.

In the meantime we will just have to wait and see how Andy continues to get on in his future encounters with Novak Djokovic and as it stands their head to head is 17-8 in Novak's favour, its just a question of when will we see that 8 change to 9.  For Andy's sake let's hope its not too far away!

So that's it for now and I will be back some time in the near future with another tennis post.

Until the next one bye the now!  


           

2015 Davis cup weekend: The Brits are back (again!)

Right well its been a while since my last post on this blog since the end of the Australian open and so I thought it was time to do another as the Davis cup weekend finally was upon us again.  And I will mainly cover Great Britain's tie against the USA in this post, which took place in Glasgow and I myself went on the first day of the tie on Friday there.  So let's give this one a look then.....

OK so on day 1 the opening rubber match was between the British No.1, Andy Murray and the American No.2, Donald Young with Andy leading their head to head 4-1 going into this match.  And the match itself appeared to be easy street for Andy as he got off to a racing start and Young did little threaten Andy, who broke his opponent three times in the first two sets to take the two set lead in just under an hour.  In the 3rd however, Young started to raise his game and find some rythym and Andy came off his game slightly making some loose errors at 4-5, Young took the initiative and broke to take the 3rd set.  In the 4th set Young got off to a good enough start but he was unable to keep up the pressure as Andy reasserted himself and grabbed a double break to seal the match and the first rubber with a convincing 6-1, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win.  Despite a minor wobble in the 3rd set, this was a hugely impressive performance from Andy who for the most part did everything well and even served well to make life easy for himself.  Young to his credit despite a poor start also picked up his game as the match went on and did well to nab the 3rd set before Andy proved again to be too strong for the American.  So it was a good solid start from the British No.1.

Next up the second rubber match was between the British No.2, James Ward and American No.1, John Isner, which appeared to be a match on paper that would see Isner as the favourite to win.  However the match itself was far from what anyone could have expected as it was an epic battle of immense proportions which saw neither player give an inch.  The first two sets were tight as anything with John Isner just edging Ward in a first set breaker and a break in the 2nd set to take the two sets to love lead.  However any signs of Ward fading were quickly dismissed as the Londoner fought back and broke Isner's serve to go a break up and he confidently held onto his own serve to push the match into a 4th set.  In the 4th set Ward started to find his rythym and his confidence grew as play went by serve he pushed the match to another tiebreak where Ward stunned Isner by nabbing the breaker and levelled the match to take it intoa 5th.  And the 5th set was an even contest with neither player giving each other an inch as it went by serve yet again, although Ward had several match points along the way in different games, especially at 5-4, but Isner kept coming up with the big serves when he needed them.  But it couldn't last forever as at 14-13, Isner finally started to buckle on serve as he looked exhausted after nearly five hours of play as he surrendered his serve to hand James Ward the win of his career and gave Great Britain a 2-0 lead with a spectacular 6-7, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6, 15-13 victory.

There is no doubt this was one of the matches of the year so far as both men gave each other virtually nothing and it was simply a magnificent performance from James Ward who showed incredible resilience to come back from two sets to love down to conquer the giant Isner.  And in this match Ward showed his real potential that even though he is ranked at 111 in the world just now, he was playing more like he was in the top 50 or even top 20!  However James is yet to translate his impressive Davis cup performances into the ATP tour as he quite often has struggled there in the past, but just maybe this match could be the confidence booster he needs to do so.  As for Isner you couldn't help but feel sorry for the big guy as he had laid it all out on the court and for nearly five hours he couldn't have done much more for his country, which left them with a big deficit to fill.  I myself was at the Davis cup that day and there was an amazing atmosphere during this match aswell.  Unfortunately due to the length of the match (and other commitments) I had to leave before it finished (I left at 12-12 in the 5th set) so it was a shame to miss the end but it was great to be there all the same.

Now we get onto day 2 which was the doubles which saw GB's doubles team, Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot take on the world's best doubles partnership, the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, in an effort to seal the tie for Great Britain.  However taking on the greatest doubles partnership of all time is no mean feat and the Bryans showed in the first two sets just why they are the best in the world as they raced to a two set lead.  But just as the Bryans looked like they had this match by the scruff of the neck, Jamie and Dom started their fightback as they broke the Bryans and Dom "the bomb" fired down some incredible serves as he served out the 3rd set to keep themselves alive in the match.  And in the 4th set Jamie and Dom pushed the Bryans yet again and play went to a tiebreak which saw momentum swing to and fro and the Bryans had match point at one stage, but Dom saved it and went on to fashion a set point of his own which saw him take the breaker and the 4th set.  In the 5th set there was nothing between the two teams as both held serve and it was a case of who would blink first.  Unfortunately it was team GB who blinked first as the Bryans broke them to go 8-7 up and they finally served it out to keep the USA alive in the tie with an incredible 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7, 9-7 win.

This was another tremendous match after the singles rubber between Ward and Isner the day before and it was an incredible effort from both Jamie and Dom to push the greatest doubles partnership of all time as hard as they did.  And as they played during the match, Jamie and Dom both grew in confidence and proved to be quite formidable team themselves and in particular Dominic Inglot was the standout player of the two with his impressive serving as he was not broken once during the whole five sets and both men came close to sealing the victory for Great Britain right then and there.  However credit had to go to the Bryans who once again showed just why they are the best doubles team in the world and with their backs to the wall they know how to produce their very best and they did just that here in order to keep their team alive in the tie.

Which brings me onto day 3, which saw what proved to be the crucial rubber of the tie between the British and American No.1s, Andy Murray and John Isner respectively.  Andy went into this match as the favourite given that Isner had never beaten him before but Isner in the match still proved to be dangerous as in the first he threatend Andy on his serve on several occasions and had two set points at one stage but Andy somehow managed to save them to hang on.  After this play went to a tiebreak in which Andy took the initiative and grabbed the minibreak to seal the 1st set.  In the 2nd set Isner started to show signs of fatigue as he became tired and Andy finally managed to break his serve and soon took two sets to love lead with just a set standing between him and the quarter finals.  In the 3rd set however, Isner regrouped and got things back on serve and play went to yet another tiebreak but again Andy came up trumps as he ended Isner's and the USA's hopes with an ace to seal Great Britain's place in the quarter finals of the Davis cup with a 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory.

This was another really entertaining match and a good finale for the weekend which saw Andy give his team the perfect result as he put in another very impressive performance in beating Isner in straight sets.  And throughout the match Andy looked absolutely pumped and ready to go and determined to win the tie, so much so that you would swear he was playing a grand slam final!  And Andy was even fired up as a spectator during James Ward's match as well the doubles where he acted as a cheerleader for the team!  It appears to be like a new attitude from Andy and its great to see him become more passionate and enthused about the sport although we have also seen it can have a negative impact on him aswell as he has resorted more to smashing racquets when things don't go his way too, which is something he should try and address, but I suppose you have to vent frustration somehow as a tennis player when things don't go your way.

But that aside Andy has shown tremendous enthusiasm this weekend for his team and for the event and that in itself is a big positive for him and it also showed that the Great Britain also worked well as a team and they all got behind one another.  The same also goes for Great Britain's team captain, Leon Smith who has done a terrific job with the team ever since he has taken the job on, he kept up the team's spirits and taken them from the likes of Africa/Europe Zone II and lead them right back into the World Group where the team belong now with a real chance to go even further than they did last year.  However next up for GB in the Davis cup will be France which promises to be a really tough tie given the depth of field of players the French have, but it will be played as a home tie for GB so they will have the luxury to play the event where they wish, which hopefully will play into their hands.  So we will just have to wait and see where they choose to have the event with some murmuring already about holding the event on grass, which could allow for the possibility of using Wimbledon, so watch this space. 

As for the USA well it is a disappointing loss of course and no doubt John Isner will be devastated with his two tough losses this weekend at the hands of Andy and James as he gave his all out on the court.  However they were at least bouyed by the Bryan brothers winning the crucial doubles tie and for the last dead rubber, Donald Young won the match albeit on a retiral from James Ward who was suffering with a knee injury after his exertions on Friday, which saw the final score 3-2 for the tie.  But it does have to be said that the USA team lacked the same camaraderie the GB team had together and there appeared to be a lack of unity and even communication between them and their team captain Jim Courier, which didn't appear to help matters much for them, which leaves them fighting to try and get back into the world group again next year.

Now I will quickly get onto the results of the other ties in the Davis cup this weekend but as of the time of typing of this some of the remaing ties are still to be completed.  But for starters Serbia, featuring the World No.1, Novak Djokovic, dominated their tie against Croatia to reach the quarter final stages with an overwhelming 5-0 victory.  France also secured victory against Germany as they took an unassailiable 3-0 lead over days 1 and 2, but Germany did take the last two dead rubbers to save face which saw France reach the quarter finals with a 3-2 score.  Australia put up an impressive display to defeat former champions, the Czeck republic as they won 3-2 with the help of Bernard Tomic and rising star, Thanasi Kokkinakis.  Kazakhstan also made it into the quarter finals after they beat GB's nemesis last year, Italy, in a very close five set match in the last crucial rubber match as Fabio Fognini lost to Aleksandr Nedovyesov.  And last of all the defending champions, Switzerland took on Belgium, however the Swiss team were without their two best players, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka who both decided not to play in the tie.  And as a result the Swiss team consequently loss the title to Belgium in a very close tie, but the Belgium No.1, David Goffin delivered the final knockout blow as he beat Adrien Bossel (ranked 321 in the world!) to seal their quarter final place with a 3-2 victory.

This was a bit of a surprise to see neither Roger Federer or Stan Wawrinka return to the Davis cup to defend their country's title and as a result it left their team high and dry and in their absence their next highest ranked player wasn't even picked!  And it has to be said this was a pretty poor show from both men that they didn't show the commitment to even try and help their country defend the title as they clearly had no chance without them.  This also has made Switzerland the shortest holders of the title in the history of the event for quite some time.  And while Stan didn't make his voice heard why he chose not to play the event, Roger made it clear that he felt that the Davis cup throughout his career had become a "heavy burden" and now that he had finally won it for his country he could "tick it off his list" and as far as he was concerned he would not play it for the remainder of the year, and now he won't have to.  And while its all fair and well for Roger to make that decision but by doing so he has left his team out to dry and no doubt alot of pissed off Swiss fans who might feel just a bit betrayed by his lack of commitment to them.  And it appears more like Roger has now simply adopted a "been there done that" attitude now as he no longer needs to win the Davis cup again, he can just treat it like a chore he no longer needs to carry out. 

And that is where I have more respect for Novak Djokovic who's views on Davis cup couldn't be more different as for him it is more an honour to play for his country than a burden as he is very much a fierce patriot who loves his country and Novak decided to play this weekend and by doing so gave his team an emphatic victory, which Roger or Stan so easily could have done also if they had chosen to play.  And in this regard you could also say the same for Andy as he too showed great commitment to his team and they share a great camaraderie together, which it has to be questioned if the Swiss team had a similar spirit of was it morely just Roger and Stan together as good buddies while the rest of the team had to stand by at the sidelines just watching them joke and laugh together.  To be honest who knows?   

Oh and as an update in the results Argentina battle their way into the quarter finals as well as they made a comeback from 2-1 down in their tie to win 3-2 against Brazil.  And last of all Canada beat Japan in another close tie which saw the Canadians reach the quarter finals as well.  And as a result of this Kei Nishikori has lost career high ranking of No.4 and it will see Andy Murray recover his place back in the top four as he retook the No.4 spot in the world rankings.  And this is good news for Andy as he goes into Indian Wells this week as the 4th seed there which means he won't face any of the big three, particularly Nole and Roger before the semi finals.  However.... Indian Wells historically hasn't been too kind to Andy as he has suffered a number of early exits there and despite reaching the final once, he has failed to do so since then, which means there could be a big question mark over Andy's progress there in this upcoming week.  But if Andy can play well he might be able to reach the quarters or even the semi finals but I have to say I don't quite see him winning the title given that he struggles with the high altitude and speed of the courts there.  However whatever happens in Indian Wells we will just have to wait and see how things will pan out for Andy in the desert and let's hope he has a good tournament there for a change. 

Anyway that's it for my look at the Davis cup weekend and it was a terrific tie for Great Britain as they secured their victory over the USA and for me it was great to be part of the crowd this weekend at the Emirates arena in Glasgow and it was a terrific atmosphere and hopefully I might be able to go to their next home tie, wherever it might be.

So until the next post its bye for now.

2015 Australian Open Part 9 Mens and ladies finals: record breakers and heart breakers

OK so this is my final post on the 2015 Australian Open which has been an interesting tournament and seen some dramatic upsets on both sides of the net and I will cover both the men's and ladies finals in this post together.  So let's give them a look....

So ladies first as the final was between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova which was a clash of the titans even though Serena emphatically leads in their head to head 16-3 going into the match, with Maria never having beaten her for over 10 years so it was a tough task for Maria to try and pull out this win.  But the match itself was a very entertaining and compelling one and Maria turned up for a fight and sure gave Serena one although Serena broke Maria to take the opening set.  In the 2nd set it was far more tense affair and plenty of nip and tuck points as Maria had to battle hard and dig deep to save break points on her serve.  And at 6-5 as Maria served for a tiebreak she gave two championship points to Serena but she managed to dig deep and save them to push the match into a tiebreak.  And the tiebreak was a tense affair which saw the players exchange breaks of serve but it was Serena who brought down the final hammer as her first appeared to seal the deal but it turned out to be a let, but Serena closed it out on her second go with another ace to claim her 6th Australian open title and her 19th grand slam title overall with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) win.

Well this was a highly entertaining match and it was a fine battle between two great veterans in the ladies game.  It was a big ask however for Maria to try and beat Serena given that she had lost their previous 16 matches and in the end Serena was yet again just too solid and too good on her serve and Maria (just like a certain other player I will soon mention!) just wasn't consistent enough on her own.  And this also saw Serena overtake Martina Navitrilova in grand slam title wins as they were tied at 18 each but now Serena stands with 19 and she is just three more away from equalling Stefi Graff and five away from equalling the all time record of 24 held by Margaret Court (whom second biggest court at Melbourne park is named after).  And I'm sure Serena will still want to keep on playing until she has either surpassed or equalled Margaret's record and if she plays long enough and injury free she will do just that.  And another thing is that Serena has now since returning from her life threatening illness to the sport in 2011 at one or another won all four of the grand slams in that time since, which is remarkable in itself.  So for the time being Serena remains the undisputed No.1 and while she keeps playing no one will be able to equal her.   

As for Maria well she had a great tournament and she put up a great fight against Serena in the final and she also did really well as she nearly went out of the tournament in the 2nd round as she faced the tough Russian opponent Alexandra Panova there.  But Maria has no doubt shown once again that she is one of the game's toughest competitors and she knows how to fight and bring it on court and in a way its a pity that for her Serena has become an unmovable object but that is the way the sport can go.  However there is no doubt that Maria will be back again soon in the major of a final and she no doubt has a chance to win one again this year.

Right now we get onto the men's final which was a hugely anticipated clash between two of the world's best players right now, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.  Nole was going for a record 5th Australian open title while Andy was looking to end his losing streak in Melbourne by trying to win his first title there.  The match promised great things especially given Andy's strong form throughout the tournament and for once he went into the final being the slight favourite, especially after Novak played below par in his semi final against the then defending champion, Stan Wawrinka.  However as for the match itself????  Well it was a match of two halves really and both players in the first set looked a bit tight, especially Andy as Nole made the stronger start and raced into a 4-1 lead.  But soon the momentum swung back in Andy's favour as he broke back and after this both men traded breaks of serve which saw the match go into a tiebreak in which Andy had his chances at 4-2 and lost them as Novak took the breaker 7-5.  In the 2nd set Andy went down a break again but he managed to dig deep and break back and from here both men played great tennis as it edged towards another tiebreak, which this time Andy seized the initiative and broke Djokovic to win the set and level.  In the 3rd set Andy made a promising start as Novak started to show signs of cramping and fatigue as he wobbled about the court, which started to prove distracting for Andy so much so he shouted "he always does this!".  And from here Andy dropped serve and let Nole back into the match and from here... well Novak didn't look back as he started to capitalise on Andy's mounting unforced errors and also his tame second serve getting punished, he lost the 3rd set, handing the initiative to the Serb.  And in the 4th set it was curtains for Andy as he folded in spectacular fashion and the errors and poor serves and he handed the title to Djokovic who claimed his 5th win down under with a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 result.

Well this was certainly not the result Andy would have wanted who it has to be said right from the start looked shaky and vulnerable particularly on serve as Novak sped to a 4-1 lead.  But regardless of that Andy still did well to fight his way back into the first set and to even level the match in the 2nd before he completely lost his way toward the end of the 3rd and even squandered his own lead going a set all and a break up only to let Djokovic back in the door again.  And the final showed a rather troubling picture of Andy Murray as he was able to hang tough for two sets and after that he just fell away from the match just like he did last at the US Open against Nole in their quarter final match.  He also went back to his old ways of berating himself and giving his hangdog expression, getting down on himself and at the end of the match smashing his racquets a la Baghdatis style (who did the same during a match he had two years ago in Melbourne).  Whilst his frustration is understandable it shows that Andy since Ivan Lendl's departure he isn't as mentally strong or as focussed as he once was back then.  And in the New York last year, Andy physically couldn't stay with Novak but this time he could and the difference was that Novak won the battle on the mental side, which in tennis is the key to success. 

However I also felt that Djokovic was a bit guilty of gamesmanship in the match particularly when he started to show signs of cramping and wobbly movement, which very much distracted Andy in the 3rd set and appeared to allow Novak back into the match.  Yet somehow after Novak recovered the break in the 3rd set he suddenly went from having limp movement to jogging his way back to his seat as if there was nothing wrong with him!  And its not the first time Novak did this sort of thing as he reportedly did the same thing during a Wimbledon match five years ago against Lleyton Hewitt after Novak complained of suffering a leg and ankle injury and he had a timeout and all of a sudden came back to beat Hewitt as if he had no injury whatsoever!  So it does leave a question mark over Novak's behaviour on court in the final and if he was using some sneaky underhand tactics to get back into the match then that is inexcusable in itself and after the match Djokovic claimed he wasn't cramping but was having a "physical crsis for about 20 minutes" after the rigours of the first two sets (or so he says!).  But I guess in the end the outcome wouldn't have been any different and overall it had to be said that Novak was by far the better player after those first two and a half sets there was no contest and it became one-way traffic but regardless of that I still don't like how he behaved during that 3rd set. 

However I guess Novak deserves the credit and his title as the Australian open has now very much become his slam, just like the French open is Rafa's although of course winning the French will be Novak's next main aim and on his current form his might just do it, especially given Rafa's current ropey form.  And with Novak having captured his 5th Australian open title that sees him break the record for holding the most Australian open titles in the open era which is remarkable in itself and he will look to emulate Roy Emerson's record of six Australian open titles next year (who won them all just prior to the beginning of the open era of tennis in 1968). 

As for Andy the worrying signs however are still the same as Andy's serve again let him down badly and whilst he is able to get away with poor service games against lower ranked players he is not able to do the same against Novak, who remains one of the most consistent servers on the tour whereas Andy must have the worst serve of any of the top ranked players in the game just now.  Andy also mentally seemed to collapse towards the end of the match as well particularly in the 4th set where he was dished out a bagel, which must have reminded him of the rout he suffered at the hands of Roger Federer last year at the ATP world tour finals in London.  Another concern is that his rivalry with Novak has now become increasingly one-sided as he now trails 8-16 in their head to head and has lost their last five meetings and it makes you question if he will be able to beat Novak again in any event never mind a major.  Personally I think he will get a win over Novak some time this year regardless of which tournament it might be and if they were to meet in the Wimbledon final he might just get his revenge (well you can but hope!) and while Novak is the better player overall, Andy is a superior grass court player to Novak.  On the plus side however by reaching the final Andy has secured his return back to the top 4 and his ranking will rise up to No.4 again, which will help him throughout the year if he will meet the big three in the latter stages of the big tournaments and given his form it should hopefully see him win a few titles of his own this year.  So we will just need to wait and see how Andy's year will pan out for him in 2015 but so far he's off to a pretty good start and I'm sure Andy will bounce back soon from his loss and he will be back in action soon in Rotterdam in a week's time so hopefully he can do well there.  

Right so that's it for now and that's the Australian open come to an end and it was interesting tournament even if it was a mixed bag and not always of the highest quality and it all ended in disappointment for Andy Murray and delight for Novak Djokovic but that's the way it goes in sport. 

So I will probably be back sometime soon with some other tennis posts and in the meantime I will carry on doing some posts for my review blog (A Blogggggg Odyssey its called!).

So until the next one its bye for now.